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1 4 • r e s t a u r a n t d e v e l o p m e n t + d e s i g n • J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 1 8
TREND
By Amanda Baltazar
F
rom New York to Los Angeles,
coffee and bar service are hot.
These three concepts capitalize
on both with three different ap-
proaches to these disparate dayparts.
Patent Coffee/
Patent Pending
New York City
Patent Coffee in the NoMad district is
bright and sleek, with white and gray
tiles, light poplar wood, lots of straight
lines and a brick wall original to the
building along one side. It's crisp and
clean with fresh flowers in frames
alongside the counter.
But there's a different world to
Patent. Come 4 p.m., the coffee shop
closes and the doors are locked. An
hour later, the venue starts welcoming
guests back in — for cocktails and din-
ner. There's no sign outside announcing
this: You have to be in the know.
Evening guests are allowed into
the coffee shop via a buzzer and then
enter the darkened space — now lit by
candles — where the hostess awaits.
Guests are guided toward a dark hall-
way via a door that is concealed during
the day. Pre-war tiles from the original
building line the hallway floor from the
coffee shop "because we wanted people
to feel transported in
time," says owner
Ryan McKenzie,
"and we're trying to keep an antique
vibe for the place without it feeling cli-
ched." Along the hallway, lanterns cast
a dim light. Copies of some of Tesla's
patents, as well as pictures of old cock-
tail patents, adorn the walls.
At the end of the hall is Patent
Pending, a 34-seat speakeasy-style
bar that takes full advantage of the
building's arched brickwork to create
a cave-like atmosphere. Dark wood is
used throughout, and there's a metal
cage containing booze above the
bar, as well as bird cages and
naked lightbulbs.
McKenzie, who opened
Patent in January, deliberately
didn't want crossover of these
two concepts "because people
don't want to drink coffee in a
cocktail bar or cocktails in a cof-
fee shop." Also, it's hard to do that
operationally, he says, "and it would
have ruined the experience of walking
through the candlelit coffee shop."
McKenzie loves the contrast be-
tween the front, which makes up about
30 percent of the space, and the back.
"The coffee shop creates a plot twist — it
sets it up. It's fun to see people's faces
when they see the menu board open up."
From Coffee to Cocktails
Images courtesy of Simmer Group